CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES

1. Top 10 Disparities

2. Equity Plan

"For readmissions, CHLA conducts ongoing reviews and monitoring of unplanned, all-cause readmissions to identify potential disparities and areas for improvement. A comprehensive analysis of 2024 data suggests that some observed disparities may be statistical anomalies rather than indicators of systemic issues. Analysis of contributing causes to disparities in 30-day unplanned hospital readmission shows that the strongest drivers tend not to be modifiable, and are related to the initial hospitalization, including underlying diagnosis, length of stay, and severity of illness. In fact, a statistical analysis of the disparities between language groups in CHLA’s 2024 data identified that severity of illness was a significant driver of readmissions. A mixed effects regression model adjusted for severity of illness found that language was not a significant predictor of unplanned readmissions at CHLA.
In addition to underlying clinical factors, other important factors that lead to unplanned readmissions are social drivers of health which impact transition to out of hospital care, including access to follow-up care, access to medications and supplies, clear discharge instructions, discharge education, health literacy, and language support. To address these drivers of disparities, we have implemented several strategies with a goal to reduce discharge-related care failures by 25%.
•Discharge Effectiveness Workgroup: This multidisciplinary workgroup aims to improve the discharge workflow, including identifying home supply and medication needs early, improving accuracy and turnaround time for discharge prescriptions, and improving timeliness of discharge orders so discharge instructions can be translated and provided with interpretation if needed.
•Post-Discharge Check-In Pilot: Patients discharged from either of two medical-surgical inpatient units receive a phone call from a nurse three-to-five days after discharge. The nurses review the discharge instructions and ask a standard set of questions to identify issues with appointments, supplies, medications, social needs, and pending results. The nurses assist with answering questions and referring issues to the appropriate department for resolution. Patients with ongoing concerns may be referred to the Discharge Bridge Program.
•Discharge Bridge Program: The Discharge Bridge Program provides post-discharge transition support to families with complex discharge needs. Nurse case managers and care coordination assistants meet with families to identify discharge needs, provide reinforcement of discharge education, assist with insurance authorizations, follow-up with pharmacies and medical supply vendors, and provide warm handoff to the outpatient care team.
For patient experience, CHLA has implemented several interventions in 2024 and 2025 to improve patient experience for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and families, including acquiring a portable workstation on wheels and a large iPad dedicated for ASL video remote interpreting; hiring a full-time ASL interpreter to support better access to language support for patients who speak ASL and maintain continuity of care for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and families; contracting with Sorenson, a video relay phone service for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, accessible to all team members, patients, families, and visitors in CHLA’s in-person Family Resource Center; adding captions to all CHLA patient-facing videos; hosting a workshop to train CHLA team members about how to provide adequate accommodations and services to deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and their families.
CHLA has also been working to improve language access for patients who speak Middle Eastern languages. Recruiting certified Armenian interpreters in the LA County area has proven particularly challenging due to high demand and a limited pool of qualified professionals. Despite these obstacles, CHLA has taken several strategic steps to mitigate the impact on patient care and ensure continued language access, including contracting with vendor in-person interpreters for high-complexity cases involving Middle Eastern languages to ensure accurate and culturally sensitive communication; reallocating internal staffing resources and prioritized recruitment of Armenian interpreters to expand in-person language support.
While these efforts focus on ASL and Middle Eastern language access, CHLA remains committed to equitable care and effective communication for all patients requiring language support. The Patient Experience Oversight Committee monitors experience scores monthly, identifying system-wide improvement opportunities through measurable goals. Additionally, CHLA has launched a Language Access Workgroup to address barriers across all language groups and to ensure consistency in patient experience."

3. Structural Measures

4. Web Address for Equity Report

https://www.chla.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/CHLA-CY2024

5. Download Equity Measures Report

Click on the link below to download the equity measures report.

6. Looking for Related Reports?

• Community Benefit Plan
• Hospital Supplier Diversity Plan
• Hospital Fair Billing Policies
• Hospital Profile